Bed drawer and step



p 1951 R. F. WHITTIER ET AL 2,567,630

BED DRAWER AND STEP Filed June 19, 1950 lNvem'oas 6 5 Roasm' F. WHlTflER CHARLES P. F\ELD ATTORNEY:

Patented Sept. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BED DRAWER AND STEP Robert F. Whittier, Grand Rapids, and Charles P. Field, Belmont, Mich., assignors to Charles L. Whittier and Lucile G. Whittier, Ada, Mich.

Application June 19, 1950, Serial No. 169,038

2 Claims. (01. -308) The present invention relates to a novel bed drawer and step, the preferred structure, which embodies the invention, being adapted to be mounted on and below the frame of a bed, and especially a hospital bed, in which the patient is usually at a higher level above the floor than in an ordinary bed.

With such beds, getting the patient into and out of the bed may be difiicult because of the height; and our invention is directed to a very practical, useful and novel structure for facilitating the movements of the patient. Such structure also is useful as a support for articlestaken out of a drawer slidably mounted underneath the bed frame which, with hospital beds, may contain various articles which are to be used in conjunction with the patient, and which articles may be supported when the drawer is withdrawn by an auxiliary step structure movably mounted on the under side of the drawer. It may be withdrawn partlywhen the drawer is at its inner closed position to provide a step, elevated above the floor for aiding the patient, and also which, partly withdrawn from underneath the drawer when the drawer is likewise withdrawn to gain access to its contents, may be used to place articles from within the drawer thereon for ready availability and use.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a bed frame with our invention as used thereon.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the bed drawer and step as preferably made in accordance with our invention, and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section substantially on the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. 2 with the step or shelf member in retracted position, in stead of extended as in Fig. 2.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawing.

In the structure illustrated, an upper support for a slidably mounted drawer is provided which includes a horizontal rectangular plate I, which may be flanged for reinforcement at all edges, and at its opposed side edges the flanges extended farther downward and turned inwardly to provide drawer guides 2. The drawer 3 is slidably mounted underneath the plate 5 and at its opposite sides, near its upper edges, has rails 4 which ride in the guides 2 so that the drawer may be pulled out or retracted.

At the lower side of the bottom of the drawer other longitudinal parallel guides 5 spaced from each other and made of metal are secured, which 2 serve as holders and carriers for a slidable shelf or step 6 of suitable material. It may be retracted to be entirely underneath the drawer, as in Fig. 3, or moved outwardly as in Fig. 4 until stopped in its outward movement in any suitable way.

The upper drawer support has brackets thereon which are adapted for detachable connection with and suspension from side rails or bars of a bed as shown in Fig. 1. Such bed has head and foot members and parallel spaced side bars IE1 a distance above the floor. It is from the lower bar i0, when the bed structure is as illustrated, that the drawer is suspended.

The suspending means consist of two brackets of metal, one adjacent each outer corner of the plate I permanently welded or otherwise secured at their lower ends to the upper side of the plate I and extending upwardly therefrom, terminating at their upper ends in rearwardly turned lips. Also at the rear corners of the plate I other brackets 8 of similar structure are secured, but in a manner such that they may be adjusted inwardly or outwardly. The lower legs Ba of the brackets are slotted, bolts secured to the top I passing upwardly through the slots and receiving thumb nuts. With such adjustment of the brackets 8 the upper terminal lips which extend toward the oppositely turned lips on the outer brackets 1 may be adjusted to connect with the back bar it of the bed frame, the front brackets I having been previously connected with the front bars ill of the frame at the opposite side of the bed. All of the brackets, preferably, will be releasably locked or secured in place by metal catches 9 of the form shown, each vertically adjustable upon the vertical portions of the brackets l and 8 at their inner sides, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Such catches 9 are vertically slotted at their lower end portions, with bolts from the brackets passing through the slots for receiving thumb nuts at their ends to be tightened against such catches.

The structure described, while of a simple character, is very useful and is novel. With the drawer retracted underneath the bed, the shelf 6 may be pulled outwardly as in Fig. 2, providing a step support for the patient in getting into or out of the bed. When the drawer is withdrawn from underneath the bed to get access to its contents, the shelf 6 may also be partly withdrawn and serve as a support for articles taken from the drawer.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

We claim:

1. In a structure as described, a slidably mounted drawer, means adapted for mounting said slidable drawer on the under side of a bed, a step member located underneath the bottom of the drawer, and guiding means secured to the bottom of the drawer for engaging said step member to slidably mount it, whereby said step member may be retracted underneath the drawer or moved outwardly in front of it, with the drawer either in retracted or outer position.

2. In a structure of the kind described, a mounting plate, a drawer slidably mounted on the under side of and suspended from said plate, means connected at the upper side of the plate and extending upwardly therefrom adapted to suspend said drawer from the rails of a bed, two spaced guides on the under side of the bottom of the drawer secured thereto and extending from front to rear of the drawer in parallel rela- ,4 tion, and a step member slidably mounted on and extending between said guides having edge portions slidably received in the guides.

ROBERT F. WHITTIER.

CHARLES P. FIELD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 836,648 Nelson Nov. 20, 1906 1,291,794 Droste Jan. 21, 1919 1,930,882 McRae Oct. 17, 1933 2,471,529 La Barre May 31, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 579,450 Great Britain Aug. 2, 1946 

